Music, Food Trucks, Libations and Games Provide Entertainment as Local Tech Community Takes Over City Hall Plaza at 4th Annual Outdoor Innovation Event

Boston – May 24, 2016 – Boston TechJam, an event that combines a tech block party, innovation showcase and live music to connect the technology community’s contributors, has released its 2016 entertainment lineup. As over 5,000 Boston TechJam attendees, ages 18+ for the first time this year, gather at City Hall Plaza on Thursday, June 16 from 4:00 to 10:00 p.m. to celebrate the tech community, two of the area’s top bands will perform. Harpoon Brewery will provide beer and food trucks will line up, creating an environment for fun networking, discovery of local innovation and idea sharing to accelerate the region’s technology ecosystem and culture.

“Boston TechJam, now in its fourth year, is a networking event unlike any other; a giant block party with live music, experiential art installations and innovative companies showing off their latest inventions,” said Ben Maitland-Lewis, CEO of PrettyInstant.com and Founding Music & Entertainment Director of Boston TechJam. “The incredibly fun and unique-to-the-area atmosphere really brings the community together to celebrate all that we as a city are contributing to the world. Like in past years, our bands represent multiple local tech companies and will keep the energy going for a night of networking, discovery and good times.”

This year’s entertainment line-up includes:

Live Music – From 4:00-10:00 p.m. ET, award-winning bands will play funk, soul, R&B and pop to keep the party grooving. Continuing the event’s tradition of having tech community members entertain the crowd, this year’s band members work for several Boston companies including Converse, Karmaloop, Rue La La and Wayfair. Bands this year include East Coast Soul and the nationally acclaimed Bad Rabbits, previous winners of the Boston Music Awards Artist of the Year, who will be playing their only local show this summer at Boston TechJam.

Games and Exhibits from Over 90 Local Companies – While the bands are rocking, entrepreneurs, startups, established tech companies, venture capitalists, non-profit groups and students will be checking out local innovations and enjoying fun, festival-style activities and games. This year, the exhibiting companies will be organized as “Innovation Villages,” to inspire community and networking within the event.

Urban Beach – New for 2016, New England Venture Capital Association’s (NEVCA) TechGen program has moved Urban Beach, its summer kickoff that provides hundreds of college students the opportunity to build their own networks and connect to the local tech community. Urban Beach, sponsored by Boston-based ed tech company Cengage Learning, will feature networking and startups from many of the country’s top universities.

Register for the event now at www.bostontechjam.org and be entered to win weekly prizes including an Amazon Echo from Autodesk, chargeHRs from Fitbit, Noise-Cancelling Headphones from Rocket Software, an AppleTV from PTC and a Helix Bluetooth speaker from Monster. By registering and completing actions on social media platforms to stay informed and help spread the word, you’ll also be entered into the grand prize raffle, a private party, tour and custom brewing session for up to 60 people at Harpoon Brewery. The winner will be announced at the event, and don’t forget, two-thirds of this year’s admission will support computing education in Massachusetts through the MassTLC Education Foundation.

The event would not be possible without the thought leadership and financial support of underwriting sponsors Autodesk, Constant Contact, an Endurance International Group company, Equinix, Fitbit, firstPRO, Kronos Incorporated, Monster, PTC and Rocket Software.

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About Boston TechJam

Boston TechJam is a showcase and accelerator for new ideas and world-class innovations coming out of the Boston region. The event brings together early stage companies, entrepreneurs, students, established enterprises, venture capitalists and artists to celebrate the region’s technology, entrepreneurship and culture. Equal parts idea exchange and celebration, Boston TechJam is an unconventional meeting ground for local innovators, visionaries and up-and-comers. The 18+ event will take place June 16, 2016 in Boston City Hall Plaza.

Largest Festival of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Tech Culture Returns to Boston City Hall Plaza

Boston – March 29, 2016 – On June 16, 2016, City Hall Plaza will once again be the home of the annual Boston TechJam, bringing together area entrepreneurs, startups, established tech companies, venture capitalists, non-profit organizations and students in celebration of the region’s technology ecosystem and culture. The event, now in its fourth year, is one part block party, one part tech showcase that connects the community and celebrates Massachusetts’ innovation economy.

“While TechJam evolves each year to adapt attendee feedback, what hasn’t changed is the momentum of the area’s tech ecosystem,” said Mark Lorion, co-founder of TechJam and chief marketing and products officer at Apperian. “The entrepreneurial spirit, collaborative culture and passion for technology in and around Boston has only gotten stronger. I’m proud that Boston TechJam can once again play a role in bringing people together showcasing the innovation happening right now in our city.”

Last year’s event sold out days in advance, with more than 4,000 registered attendees and contributed nearly $30,000 – 100 percent of the admission revenue – to the MassTLC Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization focused on supporting computing education in Massachusetts.

The 2016 event brings with it some new changes. For the first time, the event will allow entrance to techies under 21 years old. As home to some of the top higher-learning institutions in the world, the goal is to encourage greater networking between current tech contributors and the next-generation of industry luminaries.

This year, exhibitions will be organized as “Innovation Villages,” to inspire community and networking within the event. Boston TechJam will also feature performances from live bands, appearances from entrepreneurial tech leaders – both past and present, local craft beer, food truck fare and “street-festival”-type games from 4:00 – 10:00 p.m.

“Boston has become known as a focal point for tech incubators not only in the country, but around the world,” said Tom Hopcroft, president and CEO of the Mass Technology Leadership Council (MassTLC), the lead organizer of the event. “From the individuals to the organizations, Boston TechJam celebrates those shaping, molding and growing the ideas and industries that have made the Commonwealth standout among other innovation regions.”

The event is being led by co-founder Mark Lorion of Apperian and co-founder Christine Nolan of MassTLC along with founding team members Dave Polcaro from East Coast Catalyst, Ben Maitland-Lewis from Pretty Instant, Dave Cutler from Influence Central and Joel Richman from SHIFT Communications. Other leading collaborators include GreenHorn Connect, MassChallenge, MITX, the City of Boston and New England Venture Capital Association.

The event would not be possible without the thought leadership and financial support of underwriting sponsors Autodesk, Constant Contact, Equinix, Kronos Incorporated, Fitbit, firstPRO, Monster and Rocket Software. Additional sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities are available.

How to Get Involved

• To register to attend and get the most up-to-date information on the schedule of events, visit www.bostontechjam.org and follow @bostontechjam (#btj2016). Two-thirds of this year’s admission will go to support computing education in Massachusetts through the MassTLC Education Foundation.

Boston TechJam is a showcase and accelerator for new ideas and world-class innovations coming out of the Boston region. The event brings together early stage companies, entrepreneurs, students, established enterprises, venture capitalists and artists to celebrate the region’s technology, entrepreneurship and culture. Equal parts idea exchange and celebration, Boston TechJam is an unconventional meeting ground for local innovators, visionaries and up-and-comers. The 18+ event will take place June 16, 2016 in Boston City Hall Plaza.

It’s part block party, part technology showcase, and part festival. The third annual Boston TechJam will return on Thursday to City Hall Plaza to showcase Boston-area startups and accelerators, each of whom will have two minutes to pitch their concepts to a crowd vote.

The pitch contest is styled in the traditional way, along with a little twist: the companies will showcase along with their accelerators, which will have one minute to introduce their chosen startup to the crowd. Here’s a list of the accelerators and their chosen startups.

If you’re in Boston next Thursday and looking to get your fill of the regions technology ecosystem, head on over to Boston’s City Hall Plaza on June 11 for the third annual Boston TechJam.

If you’re not familiar with Boston TechJam, it’s an event that gives anyone who loves tech or innovation the opportunity to see what’s coming out of Boston. On top of getting a sneak peek of all the up and coming startups sprouting up, it’s also a great way to network with Boston-area entrepreneurs, startups, established tech and tech-enabled companies, and venture capitalists. Not to mention it’s a really good time too. I know, I went last year, along with 3,000 other people.

Since it turns out you actually won’t be standing in line at the new Medford (Oregon!) In-N-Out Burger this summer, you’ll have plenty of free time to do other stuff. Like watch Sandoval huff around the bases. Or hit one of these eight summertime events.

http://www.bostontechjam.com/wp-content/uploads/btj2018_web_white_hashtag.png00MassTLChttp://www.bostontechjam.com/wp-content/uploads/btj2018_web_white_hashtag.pngMassTLC2015-06-02 19:21:432017-03-30 19:14:45Things You Must Do In Boston This June

Once again, thousands of local techies, startups and entrepreneurs will be taking over City Hall Plaza for TechJam—Boston’s only outdoor innovation event—on June 11. But there’s a lot more to this 21+ tech block party than pitch contests and networking opportunities—local musicians, artists and food trucks will also be on site to round out the entertainment.

As for the TechJam 2015 band and entertainment lineup, five bands and performers—all with members who work in the local tech industry—will take the stage from 4 to 9 p.m. to get the crowd going: M-Cue, a producer and sound designer for video games who makes tracks ranging from grimy, scathing beats to luscious, thick orchestrations; Cadenza, live musician performance with music accompaniment app by Sonation; Jalopy, a deep funk, soul and acid-jazz jamband; The Rockmores, big hearted smart rock; and The Rocket Band, classic rock. These musicians are also repping a range of technology companies, including Google, HP, Harmonix, FKA, Communispace and Dyn.

What other after-work shindig features baggo, beer, live bands, startup pitches, and TripAdvisor’s owl mascot riding a mechanical bull?

The annual TechJam block party returns to City Hall Plaza on June 11, and this year organizers expect it could grow to nearly 4,000 attendees. (Last year’s attendance was north of 3,000.) That makes TechJam, now in its third year, Boston’s biggest annual gathering for the local tech tribe.

Whenever you think of startups, you very likely think of young people brimming with ideas sitting in garages and dorm rooms and solving problems with technology. We are conditioned in a way to consider the idea even over the person who came up with it, but after listening to entrepreneurs, I’ve come to learn, it’s not about the quality of the product idea or even the founders, it’s about the team that grows with the company because if that’s not right, the nascent company probably won’t succeed.

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The Boston TechJam, now in its second year, is an effort by the city’s tech companies and industry groups to promote the local “innovation economy.” And the boosterism was certainly front and center, including on the event’s website. Would-be attendees were told that “Massachusetts has the world’s greatest concentration of entrepreneurs, emerging and leading tech companies, top-tier academic institutions and students, world-class venture capitalists, incubators, and an eco-system of supporting service providers.” For good measure, the online notice proclaimed, “There is no better place on earth to launch and scale innovative ideas that tackle the toughest challenges.”

http://www.bostontechjam.com/wp-content/uploads/btj2018_web_white_hashtag.png00MassTLChttp://www.bostontechjam.com/wp-content/uploads/btj2018_web_white_hashtag.pngMassTLC2014-06-17 20:04:152017-03-30 19:14:49Boston TechJam: Beer, live music, and tips on how to be a successful startup

Thursday will go down as one of the best examples of all that is right in the Boston tech and innovation community and made clear that the momentum that everyone in the “Innovation Economy” has been talking about for a couple of years now is, in fact, very real.

About midday yesterday, miles apart, the Boston TechJam officially kicked off with the “Pitch Contest Heard ‘Round the World” in a packed Faneuil Hall, and local media company Streetwise Media began its BostInno State of Innovation conference at the Westin in the Seaport. Both events were heavily attended, with many folks trekking back and forth between City Hall Plaza and the Innovation District, including Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.

http://www.bostontechjam.com/wp-content/uploads/btj2018_web_white_hashtag.png00MassTLChttp://www.bostontechjam.com/wp-content/uploads/btj2018_web_white_hashtag.pngMassTLC2014-06-13 16:56:442017-03-30 19:14:50An epic day for Boston’s tech community, from TechJam to BostInno in the Seaport